


eels are lesbian activity

by eldritchcore



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, I’m incapable of writing anything other than Fluff, also my pals are wonderful enablers, hello I love fish!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 20:19:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16562468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eldritchcore/pseuds/eldritchcore
Summary: The Doctor inadvertently takes Yaz on a date to the biggest aquarium in the galaxies, Ryan and Graham have an off-screen adventure in the jellyfish exhibit.





	1. Eels!

Despite all the wonders of the wide, wide universe, nothing quite beat the magic of stepping into an aquarium.  
Even the Doctor, who’d been practically ready to explode with impatience as they waited in line (like reasonable people, at Graham’s insistence), was calmed in a way as the cool air washed over them. The smell and sound of running fresh water, frogs croaking and the reflection of the ripples on the ceiling.  
Team TARDIS’ footfalls echoed against the stone flooring of the hallway to the inner Nyatt V Interstellar Aquarium; and for everyone, the “don’t wander off” rule was becoming increasingly harder to follow. There were already many places to go and look, aquariums with colorful and unique fish everywhere, but Yaz, Ryan, and Graham kept in a group with the Doctor. She seemed very intent on where she was going, which was new enough to pay warrant to. 

“Nyatt V’s Interstellar Aquarium is one of the largest in the galaxies!” The Doctor suddenly exclaimed, whirling around to walk backwards, arms in the air with that excited gleam in her eyes.  
Ryan slipped Graham several pounds for calling The Doctor would be quiet for a maximum of one minute.  
“There’s millions and millions of gallons of water, five different buildings, one of which is solely dedicated to nurseries, hospital tanks, and the equipment that keeps everything running!” The Doctor continued, whirling around again just as they passed beneath an archway of rocks, water running down it into pools on each side. “This is the fresh water building! Oh, you’re going to love it.”  
She looked over her shoulder with a grin, and practically bounced when she saw her friends were already smiling.  
“Have they got sharks? Or, ya know, alien sharks.” Ryan asked, gaze taking in the giant circular room they’d just walked in to. A large dome aquarium was sat in the middle, ringed by similarly sized tube aquariums, reflecting ripples upon the high up ceiling and the many escalators that lead to hallways on the second floor. But even on the first floor, there were simply dozens of archways.  
Graham thought they’d need to be here a month to see everything, judging from this center room.  
“Of course they’ve got sharks! Biggest aquarium in the galaxies, Ryan. Well, one of them!” The Doctor chirruped, sprinting over to the dome aquarium with an expression akin to a child let loose in a candy store.  
“I’d love to see some eels.” Yaz commented, turning to look at Graham as they followed after their excitable tour guide.  
“What about you, Graham?” She asked, looking curious.  
“Eh? Oh, I’d love to see some turtles. Can’t go wrong with a good turtle.” Graham answered with a casual shrug, pretending not to see the Doctor, who’d pressed herself flat against the glass of the dome aquarium. Yaz nodded and briefly raised her eyebrows in agreement, arms folded over chest as she glanced around. Something was bothering her, had been since they’d walked in.. oh!  
“Doc, where is everyone?” Yaz said, looking through the darkened room, Ryan and Graham’s attentions going to the young police officer. “Shouldn’t it be bustling with people? We saw others just a few minutes ago in line.”  
The Doctor didn’t reply for a moment- Ryan having to prod her shoulder first, at which she quickly peeled herself off of the glass.  
“It’s a huge place, Yaz! Nothin’ to worry about, everyone’s just scattered around, dozens of places to be.” The Doctor reassured. “Plus, I made sure to scan for danger this time! Nothing to worry about, fam.”  
This earned her three identical sets of skeptical looks.  
“Aw, come on now, really!” The Doctor began, as if to continue on with something defending herself, but a flicker of color caught her eye. The Time Lord then quickly turned around again, gesturing to her friends.  
“This dome is connected to one of the bigger tanks! It’s got a whole ecosystem in there, a small slice of nature.” The Doctor said, instead beginning on something else, apparently. Spontaneous subject changes were something Yaz, Ryan, and Graham were used to when conversing with her at this point, and so they crowded around the dome.  
“There’s your shark, Ryan.” Graham pointed out, and Yaz snorted with laughter at the sight of it.  
“What? No, that’s not a shark, no way.” Ryan denied, squinting loudly at it.  
“Yep, that’s a shark! Specifically a hyrdoflaximus shark from the planet Fwoon.” The Doctor chirped, staring at the shark with awe.  
Said shark was roughly the size of a rubber duck, and violently magenta.  
“Fwoon.” Graham muttered, shaking his head.  
“They’re one of the few organisms that can chew through diamond! Wonder how they’re keeping it in here?”  
On that note, Ryan suddenly found the shark a lot cooler.

===

After a while, the “don’t wander off” rule was technically broken.  
Ryan had looked a bit confused when Graham had idly commented about himself and Ryan going to look at the jellyfish- and it was upon spotting Yaz and the Doctor holding hands, not really noticing what Graham had said as they stared at the fish, that a lightbulb went off in Ryan’s head.  
Besides, there was nothing to lose by checking out the jellyfish that were apparently made of jello.  
And so it was at least five minutes later that the Doctor realized their group had lost two members.  
“Hey- Ryan? Graham? Where’d they go?” The Doctor said, brow furrowed as she hurriedly glanced around, hand still in Yaz’s as she began to make her way along the wall. Said wall was a view into one of the massive aquariums; the ones where you couldn’t see the other side through the blue haze.  
“They’d gone to see the jellyfish, Doc.” Yaz gave the Doctor’s hand a gentle squeeze, and the worried Time Lord came to a halt, looking back to Yasmin with a relieved smile.  
“Did they? When’d that happen?”  
“A few minutes ago, I think you were distracted by an eel.” Yaz answered, laughter in her voice and an affectionate smile on her face.  
“You said you’d wanted to see the eels! And it had a bioluminescent angler despite not living in deep waters and being diurnal, quite distracting like you said.” The Doctor replied, before she seemed to grow distracted once more, that look in her eyes when she had seen something fascinating and was preparing a ramble.  
Heat crept onto Yaz’s cheeks when she realized the Doctor’s gaze was at her face. Her face was distracting the Doctor. She wasn’t sure what to say or do-  
“Ohh, eels! Eels, Yaz! They’ve got eels from the Tropicore Forests here, this way!” The Doctor exclaimed, gesturing to a sign that pointed in the direction she was heading, and just like that she was hurrying down the way, a grinning Yasmin quick to keep up.  
“The eels from Tropicore look like vines, their camouflage is amazing! They even photosynthesize, though they’re primarily carnivores. Like your Venus flytraps on earth! But they eat things much bigger than flies. The leaves on their bodies absorb sunlight while also attracting minnows, isn’t that clever?”  
Yaz gave an impressed whistle as they rounded the corner, coming into another darkened room.  
Well, a room of sorts, that is.  
Both travelers gave a soft gasp, fingers laced together as they looked around in wonder.  
They’d stepped into an all-around aquarium, one that sprawled as if there were no walls at all. The artificial sunlight was high overhead, partially blocked out by simply massive weeds that flowed gently in the current. The pair was cast in hues of rich blue and pale yellow, shadows of the swimming fish on their faces. It was as if the quiet had fallen like a blanket over them, just the Doctor and Yasmin in this space, only themselves, the dancing fish and plant-life.  
“Yaz- over there, aurumus cichlids.” The Doctor whispered, and Yaz didn’t think she’d ever heard the Time Lord so quiet. “Their scales are twenty four karat gold.”  
“Soft and easily scratched then, aren’t they?” Yaz murmured, shining gaze on the glittering fish in question, and the Doctor beamed.  
“Yep- oh, over there!”  
Even her exclamations were hushed.  
The Doctor then stepped closer to the glass, pointing towards a tangling giant of driftwood, Yaz following her gaze. It took Yasmin a few moments, and then her eyes widened with realization. What she’d thought to be simply a giant vine was, in fact, staring right back at her.  
“Is that one of the eels you were talking about?” Yaz asked, grinning as she watched the beast of a fish coiling around the wood, mouth slowly opening and closing as it breathed. “It must be ten feet long!”  
The Doctor found the glow of happiness on Yasmin’s face much more interesting than any of the aquatic creatures, and it was several moments before she responded, pulling her head from the clouds.  
“Hm? Oh, yes! Properly called ‘living vine’ eels, due to their many similarities to vines of course.” The Doctor said, and Yaz couldn’t help an amused snort, the fondness in her eyes making both of the Doctor’s hearts flutter. Yaz could sense the Doc was about to start rambling, and so she gave her hand a gentle squeeze.  
“I remember you telling me that, Doc.”  
“I’ve talked about them before? Can’t remember that there, then.”  
“It was a very long time ago-“ Yaz began dramatically, the Doctor’s eyes widening in the brief pause.  
“A whole three minutes earlier.”  
The Doctor blinked, and then the both of them were quietly laughing, shoulders brushing and hands held all the more fondly.  
The vine eel had gotten closer now, and when Yaz spotted it, she could swear that was curiosity in its shining blue eyes. Its raggedy, leaf-like fins were gently tugged by the currents of the tank, skin a rich motley of greens and blues.  
Heartbeats passed in silence, just the ambience of pure calm, a relaxed breath after many days of running and fleeing, weary eyes taking a rest..  
“Sqwig.”  
“Aye?”  
The Doctor looked with confusion to Yaz, who was rather intently staring at the eel, who was now basking in the sunlight. When she realized she’d spoken aloud, based on the Doctor’s question of sorts, Yasmin’s cheeks tinged with heat, and she shook her head.  
“Oh, I dunno, just seems like a Sqwig, doesn’t it?” She said with a shrug and sheepish smile.  
The eel chose that moment to stop and stare at the two, mouth wide open.  
“I’d say it agrees.” The Doctor chirped, a sunshine grin on her face as she looked from the dragon-like fish to Yaz. “Sqwig it is! Sqwig the vine eel, quite like that. Good and proper name for a vine eel.”  
Sqwig opened its mouth a little wider.  
After that there came a comfortable lull in the chatter once more, just the two of them (three, if you counted Sqwig) watching the fish and fluttering light through the water. The Doctor would occasionally point out fish, such as a perfectly circular stingray that reminded Yaz of a roomba, but didn’t speak. Just enjoying one another’s presence, the serenity of the aquarium.  
Surprisingly, it was Yasmin who spoke first.  
“Hey, Doctor.”  
The Doctor looked over, eyebrows raised, but didn’t say anything just yet.  
“Thank you.”  
Yasmin was smiling, that cheerful thing that made her eyes sparkle with stardust, that had the Doctor’s focus orbiting around her like she was a sun. Her hearts offered an extra beat each, and Yaz’s single one did the same.  
There was a tender moment of quiet.  
“You’re welcome, Yaz.”


	2. Art Works

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> amazing art by my pals in our Doctor Who server!

**Sqwig art and character design by Mort**

 

* * *

 

  **Sketches by Verity**

**Author's Note:**

> AAYEE MACARENA I wrote again!! Wrow!  
> I love fish and aquariums so it was only inevitable I wrote something like this
> 
> Also!! Check out the next chapter! It has lovely art by my friends in our DW server <3


End file.
